Project Hail Mary

The effects of Astrophage are a kind of climate change, resulting in global cooling rather than global warming. Throughout the novel, Weir uses the real effects of climate change as a reference point for the disasters that would be caused by solar dimming. Even as global warming is intentionally accelerated to buy Earth more time, Weir never presents climate change as a desirable or even entirely tolerable outcome.

Stratt is dismissive of the effects on other species and of moral concerns, caring only for the effects on humans. Leclerc, however, reminds Stratt that human life does not exist outside of the global biome. Weir contrasts humanity’s heroic efforts to mitigate the effects of Astrophage-induced climate change with humanity’s shocking indifference, both outside and within scientific communities, to the global warming caused by industrialization and the pursuit of profit. Weir’s examination of climate change serves to bolster his argument that civilizations must think cooperatively and holistically to survive, seeking connection in spite of perceived differences.

Food is the source of both worry and comfort to Grace and the root of all human history according to Stratt, and the consumption of the sun by Astrophage sets the entire predicament of Project Hail Mary in motion. Weir contrasts the Eridian attitude towards food, which parallels the purely functional consumption of Astrophage, with the human desire for palatable nourishment. Although Grace’s insistence on pleasurable food seems superfluous to Rocky, palate fatigue and disgust pose legitimate psychological challenges for Grace on his return journey, and the Hail Mary provisions are designed to be as delicious as possible as a way of supporting the mental and emotional health of the crew. Through food, Weir aligns notions of pleasure not only with cultural norms, but also with biological necessity, emphasizing that cultural differences are deeper than mere preference and are deserving of respect.